We've just passed 5% of 2024!

Wow, time passed so fast that we are currently standing at 21% past Quarter 1 of 2024, or 5% of year 2024. I am grateful that I had a great chilling winding down December. I cleaned my house, got technician to repair my living room fan, bought and washed all my winter cloths, put them into luggage, went to Malacca twice enjoyed lots of food and a beach glamping. All these have grounded myself, made a calm mind to prepare me looking forward to start a great year.

In December, lots of self reflection and reviews had been done, learning from different experts ranging from my community, mentors, trainers to YouTubers, namely Marc Teo, Melvin Soh and Kwong Wai Wai (on mindset, belief system, productivity, business, etc), Ali Abdaal (on journaling), Alex and Chern Hong (on investment and mindset), Master Sri Akarshana (on spirituality), Dr Yong Kuan Yew (on mindfulness), etc. I learned that everyone has own pace and own way to achieve their goals, the key is how to stay connected and motivated along our journey.

Research has shown that many people are excited to list down their goals on year end thinking to kick start an amazing new year but they didn't achieve them or they may even give up before the year ends. I am also one of them, but this year I decided to do it differently!

Here is a summary of what I learned from the experts to rock the year.

There is something called "season within me", which means everyone has different preference or meaningful dates to set a new resolution, some prefer on 1st January, some prefer on their birthday or work anniversary day. Another scenario is, we tend to be more productive on certain days or months, leverage on that period to achieve more, such as I know I will be away for two weeks in Jan and Feb we have festivals, so I am mindful of how I spend my time. Be aware of "season within me", not necessarily we all need to follow the calendar year.

Progression and breakthrough comes from self awareness and self understanding, which means our clarity. When we keep taking actions but couldn't get the results or when we always procrastinate, it's time to ask "is this really what I want? Did I do it correctly? What one simple action I can take to kick start it?" We maybe setting a goal that is not emotionally connected to us, because when the WHY is big enough to hit us hard, then the HOW will become easy.

Chunk down the annual goals into quarter goals, then plan for monthly or even weekly actions, and dedicate them into our calendar. I find it very useful as I am so used to follow my work calendar so having a personal calendar set a good reminder to take actions. (Side note, my goal is to produce 1 LinkedIn content every 2 weeks, I actually has procrastinated this post until my mentor forced me to schedule this into my calendar that now I currently writing :-P Why I procrastinate? I put that time and effort started my YouTube channel.)

To provide clarity on our progress and self understanding, it's important that we keep track, record and review our progress. That's where daily journaling is critical. I am now using Day One App which at a glance I can look at how many days I have written journal and which day not, I can always return to that day and write something. I can also put in photos in my journal. The journals can later be printed out as PDF, like an ebook of our own story and journey. Thanks Ali Abdaal introducing this app and his way of journaling on his YouTube channel.

I used to feel bad that I sometimes miss out journaling, I would judge myself as lazy and not disciplined which even demotivated me to continue journaling. But now I am ok to return to the days I missed and put in just one or two thoughts for the day. I still have the intention and momentum to keep this journaling habit, which is so great! On top of that, reviewing our goals monthly and quarterly is a must, to check-in with ourselves if we are moving closer to the goals or to pivot when the goals serve no meaning to us.

Last but not least, the environment. Human are social animals. Many of my mentors and trainers have tirelessly put emphasis on surround ourselves with the right people, which means the people who value us, who can bring the best out of us, whom we always look up to and the people that share the same frequency who always encourage us to progress, not to drag us down.

Goal achieving journey or personal growth journey can sometimes be so lonely, so we need to seek out of our comfort zone to surround ourselves with the people who are aligned to our values and belief which will make our life happier and more fulfilling. Those who are not within this category or someone who is always draining our energy and emotion, we can't help but just have to reduce our interaction with them. I am still grateful of everyone that crosses path with me :-)

That's all on how I ended my 2023 and started my 2024. I hope this content provides some insights to you and inspires you to craft your 2024 too!